World War II veterans receive the French Legion of Honor

On Thursday September 26, 2013, Mr Axel Cruau, Consul General of France in Los Angeles, bestowed with the Legion of Honor medal five American veterans of the World War II.

During a ceremony which took place in the First United Methodist Church of Orange, Mr Theodore Bergman, Mr Robert Meyer, Mr William Becker, Mr Barney Van Noy and Mr Dale Towers were bestowed with the highest French decoration.

In his speech, the Consul General declared that it was “a privilege to express the gratitude of the people of France to all the veterans of the Second World War.” He reminded that all these men and women “left their homes to fight and liberate not only France, but the whole European Continent and defend Democracy and Human Rights.”

Mayor of Orange, Teresa Smith, attended the ceremony with two councilmen, Mr Mike Alvarez and Mr Fred Whitaker. The advisor for French living abroad, Mr Claude Girault, also attended the ceremony, which gathered about a hundred people.